Basement Wall Precast off 5" @9'

[nomadskidoo]

I had the Concrete contractor Put/pour Basement WALLS (pans formed, poured @2pm& pans off @5pm & workers walking on top of walls@90 degrees ) @ 9' walls,,= are off plum(top to bottom) by 5" //// is this a concern for support/life of 2,000 sq ft home?Any info thanks !

 

[kd3pc]

Wow, if I understand correctly, you have a 9' tall wall (or several) that are out of plumb by 5 inches top to bottom...

For me that is way!!! out of spec and I would want to know why he made a slop like that....did someone strip too soon and the wall swayed/sagged or were the forms wrong in the first place.

We always pull strings and measure square just prior to the pour, just for this reason....same with forms a level is always placed, especially on things that show or above grade..

Now that it is done, wrong - you will need to decide what to do about it...basement finished living space or rough? If rough, you can perhaps live with it? If it is to be finished, you will be spending a lot of $$$ plumbing things up so that walls look decent. Concrete masons should be over to see you about some $$ coming back, or offering to knock it all down and redo....or pour sisters IF the footer/foundations will support it?

As to floor framing, you will have to see how it affects your overall prints, I have dealt with a bow in a form of up to 4-5" by using a 2x6" sill plate and split the difference...that was OK until you get to siding and you see that 5" bow in a 22 foot wall.....

Others will chime in, but I would not be happy with it, for a multitude of reasons. Contractor the same as the concrete guy? Fire him...etc.

 

[matt_i]

In my opinion that's ridiculously wrong. The concrete is designed to be in compression, not bending like a beam under an off-center load.

Not sure how the forms can be even setup that "wrong" and still interact with the other forms at the outside corners. One guess is they never (or inadequately) laterally braced off the forms to the ground, and the heavy grey mud filling it up pushed it out of plumb.

One thing is certain, if the foundation is badly out of square (not plumb) then its a nightmare that follows thru every other trade, framers, finishers, siding, etc. etc.

Time to tear that all out and start over. If I had significant money already paid I would give the contractor the opportunity to start over at their cost and redo it correctly. If I had paid significant money out and they didn't want to budge, that's the point where I would start the legal process. Normally I wouldn't recommend that path but usually big concrete work is into 5 figures with labor and material and that's pretty serious change to have to start over.